CFTC spec positioning: bullish on USD - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ offered the positioning data for the week ending 5 July 2016.

Key Quotes:

"Leveraged funds turned bullish on the USD, adding USD3.1bn to bring their net long positions to USD6.3bn for week ending 5 July. The good June payroll release last Friday has boosted DXY slightly and may have accentuated USD longs though overall market reaction is relatively muted and somewhat mixed.

For the week ending 5 July, the EUR and the GBP continued to face the after-effects of Brexit as funds increased their net short positions across both currencies, by USD2.6bn and USD1.3bn respectively. EUR saw the largest net selling in six weeks, bringing total net short positions to USD11.0bn, the highest since January this year. Meanwhile, leveraged accounts had the shortest positions in the GBP (USD2.4bn) since April. 

Leveraged funds continued to favour the JPY, adding a further USD0.3bn to take their net long JPY positions to USD6.1bn, the highest since December 2011.

Commodity currencies continued to see net buying against the USD.Leveraged funds raised their net NZD longs by USD0.2bn to USD1.8bn (see Figure 11 in PDF), while returning to a net long AUD position of USD0.1bn after staying short AUD in the previous four weeks (see Figure 10 in PDF). Funds also reduced their net CAD shorts by USD0.1bn to USD0.2bn (see Figure 9 in PDF). Price action post US payroll suggests some addition to net longs in NZD and AUD. 

On EM currencies, leveraged funds reduced their net short MXN positions by USD0.6bn, by the highest amount in eleven weeks. Meanwhile, they reduced their net long BRL positions by USD0.05bn. There was no change in positioning for the RUB where funds remained long overall since January 2016.

Post Brexit, leveraged accounts continued to favour gold. Net long contracts in gold rose to 347,700, a new high and up from 329,800 contracts in the previous week.